1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an emergency identification plate that is used to identify the correct key for a specific door, and more particularly, an identification plate that uses both color and tactile indicia to match the correct key with the appropriate door.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emergency situations require quick decision making and a rapid response. Any delay, even seconds, in taking decisive action can mean the difference between life and death, and nowhere is this more apparent than in a prison. Access in and out of a prison, and movement within the prison itself is tightly controlled and regulated, and frequently monitored.
A prison is a place of forced confinement with the inmates confined to the prison and their cells by locked doors and guards.
Therefore, the passage through doors within the prison and through doors that provide entry and exit to and from the prison is restricted.
Emergencies arise in prisons just as they do anywhere else;
however, emergencies in a prison present a special set of circumstances and problems not found in most other emergency situations. Even when an emergency occurs in a prison, security must be maintained. Therefore, authorized prison personnel must have rapid but controlled access to critical areas of the prison.
There are a number of emergency situations that can arise as a result of the unique nature of prison itself, for example, prison riots or hostage situations. In either situation, it is necessary for Special Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T) teams of law enforcement agencies to have rapid access to any location in the prison.
It is essential to the physical safety of prison personnel and the inmates themselves that the prison have a system whereby the correct key for a specific door can be quickly identified. The identification means must be reliable and tamper proof, and must be operational even in the dark. For example, in the event of a power outage where visual identification is not possible, the identification means must still allow prison personnel to readily identify the correct key on a key chain or ring for a specific door.
The requirement that the identification means allows for tactile identification is further necessitated by the possibility of a fire inside the prison wherein the rooms could become quickly engulfed in smoke resulting in virtually zero visibility. Any method of controlled access must not only be secure and reliable but must meet state and/or federal codes regulating such methods and procedures.
The prior art describes a number of methods and procedures used to identify and match a key with a specific lock or door. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,692,686 issued on Nov. 20, 1928 to H. J. Nichols describes a tactual indicating means whereby one of a plurality of keys is readily distinguished from the other keys.
Indicators in the form of rivets are inserted in holes drilled in the head or shank portion of the key. A key is identified by the number of rivets present on the key, for example, the house key has one rivet, the garage key has two rivets, the office key has three rivets, and the desk key has four rivets.
An identification system for identifying particular keys of a group of keys which closely resemble each other is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,816,642 issued on Jul. 28, 1931 to H. H. Fetter.
Each key has an identifying marker wherein the marker has a strikingly different color than the marker of another key. A recess in the key is filled with a colored enamel molded to a desired shape. The colored enamel extends beyond the surface of the key and has an identifying characteristic shape so that a particular key may be readily selected from a group of keys by sense of touch.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,360 issued on Sep. 7, 1965 to C. J.
Ehmcke describes an identification means for keys. The Ehmcke patent describes an identification means that identifies a key for a particular lock by feeling with the fingers and by appearance by giving each key a visually distinguishing characteristic. The identification means consists of a knoblike ornament attached to the key. A particular key can be identified by the specific shape of the knoblike ornament.
French Patent No. 1,061,552 published in April, 1954 to M. D. Ricouard describes a method for identifying a specific key by appearance or by touch. The French patent describes an identification means that consists of either applying a molded plastic of a specific color to the head of the key or by forming distinguishing bumps on the head of the key; for example, in one instance the bumps are round while in another the bumps are square.
The July, 1948 edition of the periodical "Popular Science" on page 120 describes an identification means for keys wherein a particular key and the lock it fits are the same color.
It is clear from the prior art that it is known in the art to use either a color indicator or a tactile indicator or both to match a particular key to a specific lock. However, the present invention addresses a myriad of problems not even considered by the prior art, and provides a practical, effective, and cost efficient solution.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. None of the methods described in the prior art meet or even address the special considerations required of the present invention in order to solve the aforementioned problems. Thus a multiple indicia emergency plate that allows fast identification of the appropriate key for a specific door in a secured facility that uses both visual and tactile indicia is desired.